Deus Humana: Ch. 3
Chapter 3: I Read My Own Prophechy (Typhus Ω) When Jessica kicked open the doors of the Council Hall, I knew she was pissed off- majorly. Covered in sweat, blood, and what smelled like chicken grease, Jessica stood in the doorway, her face red and her bow held in her hand tight. "Blake!!!" she screeched towards the back of the room, spit and noise flying out of her mouth like bullets. "What the HELL is wrong with you?!" Blake looked up from his stake of reconnisance reports, eyeballing Jessica in all her chicken covered greasieness. "Excuse me?" "An important mission? Something we needed to collect?! We almost died you rotten son of a-" "Jessica! Calm down!" I looked up towards the familiar voice of my twin sister, Raven. Stepping out from behind the huntress, Raven revealed herself. She too was covered in blood, sweat, and various chicken juices. Her hair was matted and plastered to her neck, her eyes bloodshot and watery. In her hand she carried a giant stone gauntlet, shaped like a fist. Greek runes were etched into the stone finger tips and palm. When I looked at the runes, I felt something strange inside my gut...as if the runes were alive, possibly even talking to me. I shook my head as Raven began to speak. Her lip trembled in nearvousness at first, but soon she regained her normal posture, speaking fluidly. "What Jessica was trying to say was that you sent us into a trap..." she said, biting her lip nearvously. "Beg your pardon?" Blake said, furrowing his brow and standing up. In one black blur he was standing infront of the girls, eye level with Jessica. "Are you accusing me of-?" Raven interrupted him, something she knew perfectly well not to do. "-no...We're just saying that we were ambushed. The storage house you sent us to was filled with um...chicken nuggets." The other councilers in the room laughed, the chuckels echoing off the Council Room's walls. "Chicken nuggets?" one of them said. "What an imagniation this girl has..." another giggled. Jessica frowned, obviously still pissed off. Her face red, she stepped inbetween Raven and Blake. "What Raven meant," she said, "is that we were ambushed by a pair of demon...well, chicken nuggets- shut up, Cole! Anyway...no matter what they were, we were almost killed tonight. Care to explain?" Blake sighed, rubbing his temples, and then he began to laugh. "You truly think I would want you dead? Why would I want such a beautiful face wiped from this earth?" Blake smiled, reaveling his glistening white teeth. He raised a single, callused hand to Jessica's flawless cheek, stroking it a little. I winced in frustration. Blake had always been better looking than me- him being older and all. But ever since I could remember, Jessica had always payed attention to me more...for some reason she appreciated my attitude and fighting prowess. Over time I had developed feelings for her, though I knew she would never return them the same way... Nonetheless...to see this kid hitting on her...touching her like that... My heart slowed down as she pushed away from him, scrunching her nose up in disgust. "Don't touch me," she scowled, stepping back from him. In my mind the only thing I could think was, That's the Jessica I know... Blake frowned, rolling his eyes. "Lighten up, chica. I was only joking." Suddenly Blake's eyes darted from Jessica's to the large, stone fist in my sister's hand. "What is that?" he said, pointing a shaking finger to the relic. "What, this?" Raven asked, holding it up with surprising strength. "Of course that. Give me that!" Blake snapped his wrist out, snatching the fist away from sister with such force, I almost felt compelled to spring from my chair and knock him to the ground. Flexing his left hand, Blake slowly slid it into the fist and the hand came to life. Suddenly a large golden ball of flame swirled to knife in the center of its palm. A tiny, flickering flame ignited on each finger, representing four different colors- blue, red, white, and green. My eyes widened at the site, and some of the councilers close to me gasped. Finally, someone had the courage enough to break the silence. "Holy crap...is that...?" Cole Ryan said, staring wide eye at the flaming fist. Blake nodded, a massive Grinch-like grin having spread across his face. "Yes it is, Ryan. This...is the Hand of Hades." Everyone stared, oohing and awing at the hand. "What's the Hand of Hades?" I asked. And then room burst into laughter. "He doesn't know what the Hand is?" one person chuckeled. "What a noob!" another laughed, wiping a tear from their eye. "If he doesn't know the hand...imagine what else he doesn't know!" a girl giggled. "Silence!" Blake hollered, and the laughter ceased. He gave a sweet- yet sarcastic- smile to me. "It is quite alright if Typhus knows not of the Hand. That is what we have the Book for..." "Tell me knows about the book," a daughter of Pluto hissed to her brother, giggling slightly. "Bring out the Book!" Blake said, snapping his fingers. Suddenly a large, black column of smoke erupted out of the council table. When it cleared, a massive, leather bound book sat in the center of the wooden table. A large, silver skull rested in the center of the black, leather cover, and a matching silver lock was wrapped around it. The Book of the Dead, I said in my mind. What's the Book of the Dead, you might ask? No, not that silly piece of parchment from ancient Egypt...oh, something entirley different. The Book of the Dead...Hades's/Pluto's personal archive of secrets. Accessible only by a son or daughter of the death god, The Book of the Dead contained secrets not even the Zeus himself knew. Enchanted by the Lord of the Underworld himself, the Book wrote in itself whenever a new piece of information was added, or something in history was concieved. Too us demigod children of death? The Book could be accessed any time, any place, with just the snap of a finger and the mutter of a special incantation in our mind. Blake, feeling special and mighty today, pointed his right, bare hand at the book and the lock deactivated. I could hear the pins and gears clicking back and forth as the lock unlocked itself, falling limply to the side as the book opened itself. Bending to the reader's will, (in this case Blake's) the book opened up to the Hand of Hades's page. A perfect, white ink drawn picture was etched into the black parchment page, a spitting resemblence of the relic now on Blake's hand. "Serena," Blake began. adressing one of the senior councilers.. "Please read to our friend." Serena- a blonde haired girl from Britain- nodded, pulling the book close to her. Serena's accent was thick, and somewhat hard to understand, but I managed to make out most of what she said. "The Hand of Hades is an ancient artifact, or relic, that was crafted during the Gigantoamchy. Forged by Hades's personal blacksmith, Vendaar, the Hand was entended to end the war quickly. Vendaar, being a son of Hephaestus and Aphrodite, was a master of fire and persausion. Traveling across the world, he persauded the ambassadors of the great Nation of the Inferno to allow him access to the The Flame, a special temple hidden deep within the Earth. Without the ambassadors knowledge, Vendaar stole five enchanted fires from The Flame- the red Fire of Anger, the blue Fire of Strength (or Power), the green Fire of Rebirth, the white Fire of Seduction, and the golden Fire of Ashes. Returning to the underworld, Vendaar crafted a stone fist and enchanted it with the Five Fires of the Flame. However, since the blacksmith had retrieved the fires untruthfully and unlawfully, the Hand turned against him. Reducing Vendaar to ashes, Hades mourned over the loss of his beloved friend. Collecting his ashes, Hades sprinkled a few drops of Vendaar's soul into the Hand, and the other into a powerful catalyst known as the White Amphora. To this day, the spirit of Vendaar lives on, making the Hand nearly unstoppable to those children of death who wish to use it....however, if one were to collect the other half of Vendaar's ashes and place them into the Hand....then it is said that they might be invincible, possibly even immortal..." Serena looked up from the book, eyes wide with awe. My eyes, however were fixed on the Hand of Hades. How could something that powerful be left in this world. How could it be left in the hands of us adolescense...? Blake roared. "The Hand of Hades, everyone!" The Council Room was flooded with claps and cheers. "Give a big round of applause to our questers, everyone!" Blake said, gesturing towards Jessica and Raven. Jessica groaned, ignorning the appluase and rolling her eyes. Quickly and fasionably, she stormed out of the Hall, Raven following in pursuit close behind her. Blake laughed, nodding to his fellow councilers. "Alright people...meeting over. Time for bed!" As the rest of the councilers piled out, Blake and Cole hoisted the Hand up onto a pedestal, casting an enchantment around the artifact to create a large, impenetrable glass case. "That should hold it for now..." Cole yawned, stuffing his hands into his pocket. "Night Blake..." Blake nodded towards Cole as he fled from the Hall. And then suddenly it was just Blake and I. "You going back to your cabin, Typhus?" Blake asked, rasising an eyebrow in curiousity. I twideled with my fingers, my lip trembling. "Um...yeah! I-I was just...gonna take a look at the hand for a few more moments...it's very...intriguing..." I sighed. Horrible response, but the truth none the less. Blake nodded, grinning a little bit. "Alright! No midnight make out meet-ups, you playboy! Got it?" I laughed sarcastically, playing along with his idiotic games. "Um...yeah. No problem..." Blake laughed, waving good night and exited the Council Hall. When the large iron doors slammed shut, I nearly jumped out of my skin. I sighed, clutching myself and willing myself to regain my posture. I looked up towards the glass case, the hand sitting propped up in the middle of the pedestal. Slowly and carefully, I began to move towards it. As I approached a slight screeching noise began to fill my ears. At first it was a tiny sound, like a buzzing or something. Then as I grew closer to the Hand, the sound began to flood through my mind, engulfing me in a wave of high pitched frequency. I clutched my head, falling to the ground. By the now the sound was killing me. I could feel my brain beating in my skull, my heart throbbing rapidly in my chest like a drummer. Salty sweat poured down my forehead, and suddenly I could feel a warm, gushing substance flowing out of my left ear. Blood. I stood, willing myself to be strong, and rammed my fist into the glass. Of course it didn't break- it was a magical enchantment designed to withstand even the strongest Greek fire bombs. However the screeching stopped, upon my fist making contact with the case. I wiped rubbed my temples, not even bothering with the sticky blood on my face, and stared at the Hand curiously. It was like it was alive...drawing me closer with a magnetic-like pull... As if I had been told to do so, I lifted my blood, sweat covered hand to the glass, and placed my palm on it.... Suddenly a wave of pleasure shot through me. I could feel my heart beat slowing, the pounding in my brain slowly easing to a stop. The blood on my face slowly crusted over and fell to the ground, the palness in my face being overun with my usual skin color. "Your a curious one, aren't you?" The voice was from behind me, and it was like silk on a pillow. The voice was soft and warm like the sun...pretty ironic considering who it was. I turned, suddenly face to face with a tall, muscular blonde man. His hair was spiked up with gel, the light of the Hall's bronze braziers reflecting off of the shining, gooey substance. His eyes were covered in black shades, so darkly tinted that I couldn't see his eyes at all. He was shirtless, save a black necklace hanging around his neck, a sun charm hooked onto the thread. His body was flawless, his pectorals compeltley perportinate, and his 10 pack of abs dead set and firm. He was dressed in a pair of khaki shorts. Strapped over his feet were a pair flame-design sandals. His skin was extremley tan, and when he smiled, his teeth were so white they were almost blinding. My first instinct upon seeing a totally ripped, surfer-dude-looking, tall guy? Engarde. I drew my sword, brandishing it firmly infront of me. The man laughed, waving his hand once, and my sword dissolved into nothingess, oblivion. My eyes widened in sorrow...that was favorite sword! I glared up at the man, my eyes dead set on his stupid looking shades. "Who are you? Tell me...before I call the councilers!" I know. Lousiest threat ever...espically considering the guy just vaporized my sword. He laughed again, and removed his shades. What was behind him was blinding- literally. His eyes were miniature suns- small, sphere shaped balls of fire set where his pupils should've been. I winced in pain at the sudden burst of light, looking away. But as I looked up from my arm, the light seemed to die, or at least dim down a bit. I stared at the man, trying to figure out who he was... Suns for eyes. Blonde hair. Completley flawless body... "Apollo..." I said, the revelation finally hitting my puny, little brain. "You're Apollo aren't you...? God of the sun and all?" The man chuckeled. "And bingo was his name, oh..." he said, clapping his hands sarcastically. "Yes I am Apollo. God of the sun, music, arts, archery, and being absouloutley, positivley sexy." He winked, basking in his egotistical, arrogant glory. Then he added, "Oh right. And I'm also the god of oracles. But who remebers that?" "Why are you here?" I glared, clenching my fist tight. "What do you want? This is Hades's and Plutos's territory..." "Calm your churros, boy! I've only calm to give you this message-" I interrupted before he say anything more. "Message?" I glared at him. "Isn't that Hermes's job? He would, afterall, be more welcomed in my territory." Apollo scowled at the mention of his little brother. "No. Hermes is too busy for simple matters like this. And after all...he does not own the Oracle of Delphi. I do." I raised an eyebrow. The Oracle of Delphi was a mystical spirit who relayed prophecies to heroes and the gods...what buisness would she have here? "The Oracle? What does she have to do with your presence?" I glared. Apollo sighed, holding open his palm. As his fingers unfurled, I noticed the piece of slightly burnt, tea stained parchment in his palm. "This is for you. Do not open it until I am gone. When you read it, read it out loud. But be warned...once opened...they will come." My eyes widened in fear. Apollo was a god. And what's more a god of prophecy. If he was trying to tell me the future or something...there was no denying it would most likely happen. "Wait? Who ''will come?!" "I'm sorry," Apollo said quickly. "I must return to Olympus. Good night, Typhus Gravemore. And....good luck." "What?! Wait! Where-." It was no use though. In a flash of warm light...Apollo was gone. Sighing in frustration, I sat down at the coffee table, placing the parchment infront of me. As scared of what Apollo told me I might be...the temptation to open the parchment was too much. Peeling the small, sun-themed seal off, I flipped open the paper and read the finley written text on it aloud. (Looking back...I reeeeally wish I hadn't done that.) ''"You must find a man of earth and sea, And journey far till your each the tree. A single flame to clense the rain , A fallen god must be freed from chains. And in the dark a light shall shine, The Lord of Bones returned from time." For a moment I simply sat there, wondering what the hell all these words meant. My mind raced with questions, and contimplated so many- probably wrong- answers. "GAH!" I screamed, slamming my fist on the table and running my fingers through my hair. All my life I had been taught never to believe in coincendces...so then what did all this mean?! A prophecy? What was it for? What did it mean? As I yawned, sleep beggining to take over my body, there were three loud explosions from outside. Suddenly a bright, flickering light shone in from the Hall's single window. My eyes widend and I raced for the door. Pushing it open with all my strength, I raced out of the Council Hall...and nearly broke down. My eyes began to water as the fire and destruction before my reflected in my eyes. As I watched the horde of demons crawl up the hill to our beloved camp, three words rang through my brain: "They will come..." Previous Chapter: Chapter 2: We Fry Some Killer Chicken Nuggets Next Chapter: Chapter 4: I'm Nearly Killed By Paper Category:Bladewood Category:Chapter Page Category:Deus Humana